Let the sun shine

Open government crucial to all Arkansans

It is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that the electors shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in making public policy. Toward this end, this chapter is adopted, making it possible for them or their representatives to learn and to report fully the activities of their public officials.

— Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, Statement of Legislative Intent

For a lot of Arkansans, the existence and impact of the state’s Freedom of Information Act isn’t a frontand-center issue — until it is.

No one’s really to blame. People have lives to live, kids to get to school, fields to plow, cattle to feed, paychecks to earn, viruses to avoid. Access to the information collected by state and local governments just doesn’t seem all that crucial when most state residents really just want government to stay out of their affairs. As long as it does, they’re all good.

Then along comes the proposal to develop a piece of idyllic property into a nightclub, with outdoor music, next door to longtime neighbors who have long enjoyed their peaceful slice of the Natural State.

Or a conflict between a police officer and a motorist stopped for a broken tail light that inexplicably turns into a violent encounter. Or questions arise about long-ignored promises by political leaders to build a new bridge to replace rickety old one-lane span that school buses travel over twice every weekday.

It is often these kinds of circumstances that turn average Arkansans — or residents of any other state in the nation — into advocates for open government. Circumstances directly affecting their lives force them into becoming advocates, whether it’s to learn more about a state’s funding for people with developmental disabilities or to discern what factors went into a decision to pave a street that just happens to include the mayor’s house.

When people face the need for such advocacy, that’s when they begin to realize how important the public’s right to know about government actions and decisions — and the laws that protect it — really are.

Few people likely have it circled on their calendars, but advocates for open government and public access to information and meetings will this week mark the annual observance of Sunshine Week. It’s coincidental that it happens in 2021 the same week we’re enjoying that extra hour of sunshine at the end of the day because of the shift to Daylight Saving Time, but the idea is similar: The more the light shines on government, the more accountable government will and must be to the people it exists to serve and whose tax dollars pay the bills.

Not everyone likes sunshine, though, at least when it comes to the metaphorical kind represented by open government laws. Otherwise sensible people get involved in government service and become convinced that shielding the public from deliberations or public records kept on their behalf is somehow doing them a service. And, occasionally, secrecy in government is a weapon deployed in an effort to prevent anyone from getting in the way of some objective.

Because of nature of their jobs, journalists and journalism organizations often become the stewards of the cause, but open government isn’t just, or even primarily, for them. In Arkansas, for example, journalists have occasionally been offered “compromises” to the Freedom of Information Act that would carve out exceptions for the media while placing restrictions on others. Because the FOIA has, since Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller signed it in 1967, been viewed as preserving the public’s right to know — not just journalists’ — such exceptions have been met with resistance.

The Freedom of Information Act belongs to Arkansans, not to journalists. It explicitly protects access to public records and public meetings for citizens of the state, not some professional subset.

It is unfortunate that the appreciation for open government isn’t as universal as one might think. With every session of the Arkansas General Assembly at the state Capitol comes attacks designed to shield more information from the prying eyes of the people government should be serving. This year is no different.

Last week, a committee thankfully voted against a proposal to allow governing bodies to meet in executive session — that is, outside of public view — to discuss economic development projects, which typically involve taxpayer-funded incentives, land deals, infrastructure promises and other enticements. Private meetings on such matters would certainly help move them along, which is what supporters of the measure said they were after. That’s what the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Delia Haak (R) of Gentry, said was her motivation — to help facilitate economic development in Arkansas communities. While her intentions were noble, the bill itself was misguided and potentially harmful because it would have shielded the public from observing its government at work or providing feedback at critical moments. Citizens should be let in on what’s being promised by their government, and on what kind of return on investment is expected, before decisions are made. That serves Arkansas communities more abundantly than secrecy.

We appreciate the lawmakers and public officials who protect the public’s right to know. Specifically, we’re grateful to Rep. Josh Bryant (R) of Rogers and Howard Beaty Jr. (R) of Crossett for speaking against the bill in committee.

We understand not every detail of every government record — such as health records or income tax information — should be made public. But generally speaking, the bar for secrecy in government ought to remain very, very high.

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act was a monumental piece of legislation back in 1967, but it’s been targeted time and time again ever since to reduce its effectiveness. Arkansans are well served by having a strong “sunshine” law that shines a light on what government does, and doesn’t do, in the name of its citizens.

Daylight Saving Time, which kicked in this morning, shifts more of the sunlight to the end of the day, where many people find it most beneficial. This week, as we enjoy the extra light that change shines on late-in-the-day activities, we’ll be thinking about the lasting positive impacts of laws that illuminate government decisions and empower the people to better understand how government functions or fails to.

But it’s important for everyone to recognize that keeping that light shining is never-ending work.